The Blading Mermaid
by Song Of Hope
Summary: After saving him from a storm, a young mermaid princess can't help but wish to be a human. So, she goes to the only person who can help. Little does she know that everything happening is all part of her plan. R
1. Chapter 1

**Song Of Hope: I know I shouldn't but the idea came to me and I couldn't resist! Also, there's a petition on my profile to get the old YouTube back so that YouTube can stop being Google's b*tch. R&R**

"Yes! Raise up what they call hell through the waters! Bring on the storms and turn the sea into pure malice!" A woman with a pure black tail with black fins, alabaster skin, gray hair and pure black eyes laughed evilly. She wore nothing short of a cloak made the corpse of a dead manta ray and a shirt made out of the hair of other mermaids. She also held a staff with a giant gleaming black pearl surrounded by coral. Above the surface, a ship was being tossed back and forth on the waves. Many people grabbed onto things that could float, others tried to stabilize the ship, and the rest prepared the lifeboats. Eventually, the ship started going down, and anyone who wasn't on a lifeboat swam towards one so that they could escape death. The mermaid responsible laughed.

"Now, the bait is brought forth. All I need is for the catch I seek to take a small nibble! Soon, what I look for will be mine and mine alone!"

**The Next Day**

"Come on Elpída! You're too slow!" A young girl with shimmering golden hair that carefully covered her going nearly to her lime green tail with golden fins and with emerald eyes was swimming towards a gray dolphin with playful hazel eyes. She smiled at him.

"I'm going as fast as I can Ieremías! I may be a mermaid, but you're the fastest dolphin to ever live!" The gray dolphin smiled.

"That's because no one is faster than I am! Now hurry up! I've got something to show you!" She laughed.

"Alright, I'm coming, I'm coming."

"ELPÍDA! TRAGOUDÍ ELPÍDAS!" Elpída turned around to see an aquamarine-haired and maroon-eyed mermaid with a sapphire tail that had silver fins swimming towards her.

"Hey Pnévm. Ieremías just wanted to show me something. What's wrong?"

"Your father is out looking for you! He got mad at me because I'm supposed to keep an eye on you!" Ieremías looked up and Pnévm.

"Come on! It'll be pretty quick, I promise!" His sad eyes made the other mermaid cave.

"Fine, we'll go and see it. But we won't be there for very long!" Elpída smiled.

"Perfect!" She turned to the young dolphin. "Lead the way Ieremías!" He smiled.

"With pleasure!" He swam quickly. Elpída laughed as she tried to keep up with the dolphin, while Pnévm was grumbling about the fact that she was younger than Elpída and shouldn't have to do this.

Soon, they came across a shipwreck. It appeared to be a new shipwreck, and the ship looked to be expensive, made of green and gold painted wood with a lion at its head. Elpída looked amazed.

"Ieremías, this is amazing!" They quickly swam inside. Inside were a variety of very valuable things. Elpída couldn't help but stare at all of it. She picked up a small object. "This is something called a jewel! Look, many of them are coming out of that chest! And things called gold coins and silver pieces! This must've been one of those human cargo ships!" Ieremías smiled.

"But that isn't even the best thing here! Come and look at this!" He swam through a corridor. Elpída ad Pnévm followed him. Elpída stopped in her spot.

"Who-who's that?" There was a statue of a man with very wild hair in a royal outfit standing in the middle of the room. She looked rather moon-eyed over him. Pnévm looked carefully at it, as well as the ship.

"This ship isn't deteriorated, so it must've been sunken very recently, and since the statue doesn't have much of anything to show age on it, it's most likely a new one of an actual person. It looks like a prince, most likely of Tategami or Minasan, since those are the closest kingdoms there are to our Waterwallower kingdom of Tragoudí. But as far as I know, the next rulers of Minasan are twin princesses, so I'm sure that it must be Kyoya, the Prince of Tategami." Elpída couldn't help but smile as she stared at the statue. Pnévm noticed something on the floor and picked it up.

"Huh, what's this?" It was a top of some sort, made of five parts; one of the parts was in three layers. The first part was a white bolt with a green lionesses head on it, with a red ring of some sort being next with a complex pattern. The next part was the three-layered part. The first layer, the top, was yellow, made of peridot, and was rough, with three spikes going downward, seeming to be interlocked with the second layer, and some wavy topped edges coming out of the spikes. The second layer was a lime green, also made of peridot, with twelve spikes, four going up, four going down, and four going on a clockwise direction. The third layer was like the first layer, but upside down with smooth topped edges on the spikes and brown. The next part was a part shaped like a funnel and a curved protrusion, and all of it being red. The last part was the tip of it, with a very wide and extremely short red cone. Pnévm gasped when she realized what it was.

"This, this is absolutely amazing!" Elpída snapped out of it and looked over at her friend.

"What is it?"

"It's a Beyblade! And not just any Beyblade, but a very precious one!" Pnévm was a type of mermaid who knew all about certain human things. Every mermaid had knowledge that they were born with. Pnévm was born with the knowledge of Beyblades, while Elpída was born with the knowledge of human fighting (which is useless since mermaids do not fight the same way as humans, and princesses were not allowed to fight regardless). Any time a Beyblade fell to the ocean floor and another mermaid found it, they would bring it to Pnévm and she would be able to tell its exact history just from touching it.

With that being said, Elpída was very curious about it.

"What's its history?"

"This is a powerful Beyblade known as Peridot Leoness, more specifically, Peridot LeonessAD145WD. It's legendary, and has been through many battles. It's so powerful that it's even locked away its own history." Elpída held out her hand.

"Can I see it?" Pnévm nodded.

"Sure." She handed her the Beyblade, and as soon as it left Pnévm's hand and went into Elpída's, it glowed with a bright lime green light. Ieremías was amazed.

"Elpída, I think you're supposed to own it! How cool is that?!" He did flips in the air. She was shocked.

"But, Beyblades are forbidden to be used by mermaids. For one, they don't work underwater, and for two, humans make them! They're allowed as relics only, not for use! I can't keep it!" She tried to hand over the Beyblade to Pnévm, but she just smiled at her friend and used her hands to close Elpída's around the Beyblade.

"You were destined for this. Keep Peridot Leoness. One day, it will be of great use to you. I can feel it, and I'm never wrong about Beyblades. Now, come on, we have to get you home before your father becomes very angry." Elpída nodded.

"Yeah, you're right. Come on Ieremías, we're heading back home." The young dolphin nodded.

"Okay, we'll go." They headed back. When they got to the shining palace, another golden haired mermaid with emerald eyes was waiting for them. She was very heavyset, and had a black with red spots tail with golden fins as well as a flower hairpin with a black pearl that also had red spots in it. Elpída smiled at her.

"Hello Nikifóra." The mermaid, apparently Nikifóra, didn't look very happy.

"Elpída, you were supposed to be home a long time ago." She noticed the Beyblade in her hands. "What's that?"

"Oh, just a Beyblade I found. It's just an old relic."

"Fine, but have to hurry in here, and no more hanging out with that dolphin! He's nothing but trouble!"

"Don't be so hard on her! You were worse than her." They saw another golden haired mermaid with emerald eyes, but she had an opal tail with silver fins. She also had her own flower hairpin, but the pearl was opal in color and in the way it gleamed. Of the four mermaids, she was obviously the eldest. Elpída smiled.

"Thanks Dreia." She frowned at the younger mermaid.

"Don't be. Father is very cross right now. We had all better get in there." They all nodded as they went in but Ieremías had to stay behind, because their father wasn't found of him either. Nikifóra smirked at her younger sister.

"If you act like this, you'll never be allowed to go through your Coming of Age ceremony to get your Pearl Hairpin." Dreia glared at her.

"Don't talk like that! She'll get it when she's ready. You know that Grandmother María will be the one to bestow it upon her, not Father. And besides, you were far more immature than she is now when you received your Pearl Hairpin, and you were older than she is right now." Nikifóra just shrugged it off.

"What good will that do if she's not around to receive it? Father's so angry he could turn the water around us into air."

"TRAGOUDÍ ELPÍDAS!" They all cringed, especially Elpída.

"He's really angry, isn't he?" Both of her sisters and her best friend nodded. They entered the throne room, where a very angry merman was sitting on a throne. He had very long white hair, blue eyes, and a turquoise colored tail with golden fins.

"What have I told you about coming when I summon you?!" She looked rather upset. She held the Beyblade behind her back, because her father wasn't very fond of them. Neither of her sisters had a fondness for them either, but they didn't hate them as much as their father did.

"I'm sorry Father. We came almost straight away."

"Almost?! Why didn't you come exactly straight away?!" She cursed at herself under her breath.

"We just stopped by a shipwreck to look at some things. It's no big deal. It was just a cargo ship."

"You mean the cargo ship caught in the storm that the Sea Witch brewed up?! What if she set that up as a trap? The whole merkingdom knows about your fascination with humans! She could've wanted you to find that so that she could get you interested in something!" This time, Elpída didn't hold back her anger.

"What, the statue of a human in there?! Or perhaps maybe this relic that doesn't even work underwater?!" She showed him Peridot Leoness without even thinking. "It's not like she could use anything from me! I don't have anything worth giving to her!"

"Where did you get that monstrosity?!"

"I found it in the ship! Pnévm looked at it first, and it's just an ordinary Beyblade! It can't do any harm, especially since they don't work underwater! And if there was a spell on it, she would've been able to tell and wouldn't have let me touch it!" He was infuriated.

"Beyblades are not the kind of thing you should be messing with! They are dangerous and an abomination to mermaids!"

"Son." He stopped yelling. They both turned around so see an old mermaid with long gray hair, amethyst eyes with a matching tail that had golden fins wearing a regal crown and a flower hairpin with an amethyst pearl in it. Unlike other mermaids, she did wear a shirt, which was made of threads made from various plants, giving the elaborate pattern that the shirt had. "Why must you be so strict about this? Beyblade aren't something dangerous as long as she is still under the sea. Here they are no use because they cannot spin properly underwater. Let her have it. And don't get so mad about her being so adventurous. You were just as bad, if not that then worse, when you were her age." She swam over to Elpída. "As my granddaughter, you have a responsibility to act differently than your peers, which means you can't go around alone. And a dolphin does not count, because Ieremías, while I admire the way he sticks by your side, isn't able to defend himself well. He's still a child like you. Now, I suggest we go to eat dinner and then head to bed." Elpída nodded.

"Yes Grandmother." They did just that.

**Far Away**

The mermaid from before smiled at the scene from the palace that she had watched.

"This is perfect! I don't even need to waste any magic for my plan! The way her father reacted to the simple little Beyblade that she found was perfect! I had not planned on her being the true owner, but that only works to my advantage since only those who walk on land can use them! Everything is falling into place so quickly!"

**Song Of Hope: Just so you know, I changed the names of some characters temporarily. Elpída is Hope, Pnévm is Madoka, Ieremías is Jamie, and the two sisters are Victoria and Dedra. R&R**


	2. Chapter 2

**Song Of Hope: OH MY GOD I JUST SAW THE NEW NINJAGO TRAILER AND I WAS FANGIRLING MORE THAN IN THAT EPISODE WHEN KYOYA WAS SHIRTLESS! R&R**

Elpída couldn't sleep. Her bed made of kelp and seaweed wasn't doing anything for her, and her blanket of hairs wasn't helping her either. She couldn't stop thinking about that statue she had seen.

_"Why did that statue of a human man look so familiar? I feel like I've seen him before. Bu where?"_

"Elpída! Elpída!" She looked out of her window made of sea glass and saw Ieremías outside, waving his fin. She opened up the window.

"What is it?"

"I heard something exciting is going on at the surface! I wanna go see! You should come with me!" She shook her head.

"I can't. Remember, I have to have my Pearl Hairpin before I'm allowed to go to the surface! That's the only way I can leave without Father or Grandmother's permission. The guards won't let me leave without one." He smiled.

"Don't worry! I already got one of the whales to bring us up to the surface in his mouth. He'll be able to get through no problem!" She looked rather uncertain.

"I don't know. What if I get caught?" He smiled even more.

"You're family knows that you sleep swim and every mermaid knows it's dangerous to wake someone up while they're sleep swimming. I'll just tell them that you were doing that and I followed you to keep you from hurting yourself. Come on Elpída, please?" She smiled.

"Oh, alright. I'll go." She went out the window, careful to leave it open since they only open from the inside, and followed Ieremías. Soon, they met up with a large whale. Elpída smiled at the whale.

"The Whale King! Thank you for doing this for us sir." He didn't look very happy.

"I'm only doing this because Ieremías is holding something over my head. She gave the young dolphin a confused look.

"You're doing what?" He smiled sheepishly.

"I kinda found out that he ate the Krill King on accident before spitting him back out. If anyone else found out, they wouldn't trust the whales anymore." She was shocked.

"Ieremías! That's wrong!" He gave her his best adorable face.

"But if I didn't we wouldn't be able to go to the surface!" She smiled.

"Oh alright." She turned to the whale. "I promise I won't tell my Father. He's too grumpy to know." The whale smiled in relief.

"That's good to know. Now, climb in!" He opened his mouth so that Elpída and Ieremías could climb in, then closed his mouth.

As they reached the gates, the guards let the Whale King pass through. He quickly went up to the surface as close as he could.

"I'm sorry, but I really can't get any closer. If I do, then the whaling ships might chase me and discover you. I'll have to let you go on your own. But I'll be right here for you." He opened his mouth and let the two out. Elpída smiled.

"Thank you Whale King. I'll repay you for this." Then, she swam up to the surface quickly, along with Ieremías. When they broke through, she was amazed at what she saw. "Those must be the stars that Nikifóra always talks about! And that must be the moon!" She pointed at the things and then sighed. "It's beautiful." Ieremías nodded.

"Yeah, but that's not the event. Apparently, there's supposed to be a big party for someone's birthday!"

"ELPÍDA!" They turned and saw Pnévm floating not far away. Elpída smiled.

"Hello Pnévm! What are you doing here?" The aquamarine-haired mermaid glared at her golden-haired friend as she swam closer.

"I heard you talking with Ieremías. You forget that I'm the person responsible for you, and my room is right next to yours. You also forgot that I can come and go as I please since I'm technically royal staff. Now," she grabbed Elpída's wrist, "we're heading back to the palace!" Elpída wrestled her wrist out of Pnévm's grasp.

"No! I've always wanted to visit the surface! You can't take me home now." suddenly, there were explosions all across the sky. Both of them stopped yelling and stared. "What are those?"

"Those, my dear mermaid, are fireworks." They all looked up. Above there heads was an eagle gracefully flying. "Hey dolphin, I hope you don't mind, but I need to land."

"What, of course I-hey wait!" The eagle landed on Ieremías's head.

"I'm Tsubasa, an eagle from the ship." Elpída was fascinated.

"Really? You're from the ship?!" He nodded.

"Yes I am. Well, I don't belong to the ship, I belong to a little boy on the ship, but I did arrive here from there. This is the ship celebrating the 20th birthday of Prince Kyoya of Tategami." Her eyes widened.

"Prince Kyoya? Really? I have to go and see!" Before anyone could say anything, she swam away. Pnévm was pretty ticked.

"Elpída, wait for me!" Ieremías nodded, nearly knocking off Tsubasa.

"I'm coming too!" Tsubasa flew up.

"Hey, I could've fallen off of you!" Ieremías didn't even look back.

"Next time, don't land on my head!" Elpída couldn't stop smiling.

"I wonder if he looks just like the statue we found." She got close enough to see what was going on. Luckily, one of the underwater mountains was very tall, so tall it came out of the water and stuck up enough for Elpída to sit on. From there, she could see the ship rather well. Pnévm and Ieremías finally caught up. Tsubasa soon followed, landing on the rock.

"Elpída, you know that we're not allowed too close to humans!" Ieremías shook his head.

"Where's your sense of adventure Pnévm?" She glared at the younger dolphin.

"It's under the sea, right where it belongs! Humans are very cruel creatures that will use you for their own purposes!" Tsubasa shook his head.

"Not all of them. I'll admit there a few, but after living with humans for so long, I've learned that most of them are pretty good people. Just watch and see." Pnévm crossed her arms.

"Oh alright." They sat there in silence and watched the ship go by. Many of the people sounded happy and cheerful.

* * *

A man with very wild hair, sky blue eyes, tanned skin that had two crisscross scars under his eyes, and little fangs, wearing a green tunic with gold embroidery to show his status, looked on at the events.

"This is so boring. I wish that there was a Bey stadium on the ship. Then maybe things would be a little more interesting." He walked over to the edge of the ship and looked out at the ocean. "This party is pointless. I could be training to become a stronger Blader!" Suddenly, he looked out and saw an eagle, two mermaids, and a dolphin. "What the hell?!" The golden haired one seemed to blush, while the aquamarine haired one seemed to panic.

"Kyoya!" He turned around to look at a younger man with red hair, paler skin, and bright amber eyes in similar attire as his, but with blue and wearing a headband.

"You're so stupid sometimes Ginga, didn't you just see that?" Ginga was the only person who has the ability to beat Kyoya. He's the son of King Ryusei of Hagane He looked out at the ocean and had a confused look come across his face.

"See what?" Kyoya pointed without looking.

"The mermaids!" He turned back and saw that they were gone. "What the hell?" An eagle flew up and landed on the railing in between the two. Ginga laughed.

"Oh man, you're seeing things! Everyone knows that mermaids aren't real! Come on, let's get something to eat! I'm hungry." He rolled his eyes.

"You're always hungry." Ginga smiled.

"Exactly!"

* * *

As the two figures looked away, the group resurfaced from underneath the water. Pnévm looked pretty mad.

"Now look at what you've done! We've been spotted!" Elpída splashed her.

"Calm down! It's not like he saw us for more than a few seconds! He'll probably think he imagined it! Now, let's go home! Father will be up soon, and I don't want him to get angry. We need to meet up with the Whale King and get back to the palace!" Pnévm nodded, but Ieremías looked sad.

"Can't we stay up here for a few more minutes?" Elpída shook her head.

"It could be dangerous. We can't be spotted again." He looked sad.

"Okay." They were about to go down, when the waves started getting rather large. Then, thunder crackled through the air and lightning flashed through the sky.

"Rage my precious sea, and destroy all those who dare tread these waters!" Elpída gasped.

"It's the Sea Witch! She's going to kill everyone on the ship! We have to save the prince!" She swam towards the ship as the waves became even worse, nearly capsizing the ship several times. Piece of the mast started falling down and the ship was slowly coming apart.

* * *

Ginga ran around.

"Everybody, grab a life preserver and get on the lifeboats! They're our only chance!" Everybody hurried to follow his instructions. Kyoya himself was about to get on, when he heard something.

"Help me! Please help me!" He turned around and saw Yuu, the son of one of the lords, trapped underneath some of the mast wood. His father had already departed on a lifeboat, even though he had been calling for his son before getting sent off, to which Kyoya said he would be all right. Kyoya saw it and knew that he couldn't go to safety on his own.

"Dammit Yuu!" He ran towards him. Ginga looked back at him.

"What are you doing Kyoya?!" Then, he saw that Yuu was trapped underneath that. "Yuu!" Ginga ran to help. Kyoya wasn't able to lift it on his own.

"Ginga, get out of here!" Ginga grabbed the other half that Kyoya wasn't.

"You can't do this on your own!" They both lifted it up, and he ran onto another lifeboat that departed. There was only one boat left, and they ran towards it, but then the waves knocked the ship sideways, so before they could get on, they were knocked off the side of the ship.

And neither of them had grabbed life preservers.

They were in the lifeboats, and not on the ship itself, so they had no chance of surviving falling into the sea.

"Prince Kyoya!" Elpída swam as fast as she could to get to him.

"Elpída!" Pnévm swam after her, as well as Ieremías. All of them dove down. The two princes were drowning. The impact of hitting the water had made them both unconscious.

"Don't worry Prince Kyoya! I'll save you!" She swam quickly towards him. She nearly reached him, but a swirl of the waters took him away. "No!" She swam even faster towards him. "I swear, I won't let you die!" She finally reached him quickly enough to grab his hand. "Oh Prince Kyoya!" Not even acknowledging Ginga, she started heading towards the surface. Pnévm couldn't believe that Elpída would leave one to die, but not the other, so she swam as fast as she could and grabbed Ginga before going up to the surface.

"Elpída, how could you leave this man to die?!" Elpída didn't even hear Pnévm as she swam.

"We're going to make it to the shore." Ieremías was still under the sea, since he was being battled around by the waves. But then he saw two very quickly falling items. He dove down and caught them in his mouth, being careful not to swallow them.

"Dese ell weir." He swam quickly after the two mermaids rescuing the princes. "DUYS!" They swam for a while, so long that it had become morning, and the sun was behind them. The waters calmed, and they were near shore. Elpída smiled at him.

"Don't worry, we'll be there soon. I'll fight for your life!" His eyes opened. He couldn't see anything other than her golden hair, but his eyes closed again, fainting from exhaustion.

Soon, they reached the shore. Both mermaids carefully laid the princes down. Elpída brushed away a piece of his hair, before gasping.

"Anima Vinculi!" Pnévm gasped as well.

"You're right!" Ieremías came up. He spat out the objects onto the sand.

"Ah man, those taste terrible. But, what's Anima Vinculi?" Elpída turned to him and smiled.

"Anima Vinculi is also known as the "Soul Bond". When a mermaid or a merman saves someone's life, an unbreakable bond is formed. It leads to friendship, alliances, and even love. I can see into his soul, see who he truly is." He gasped.

"You're not gonna fall in love with him, are you?!" Pnévm laughed.

"Don't be silly. He's a human, she's a mermaid. It can never happen." She gave the prince she had rescued a sort of longing look, until she saw what Ieremías had brought. "More Beyblades?" She picked them up. "These are the princes' Beyblades. They must've fallen out of their pockets when they were drowning." She placed them on the Bey holders of their respective owners. Tsubasa flew towards them.

"You might want to hurry back underwater. The lifeboat I was on is coming this way to see if the princes washed up on shore. You're mermaids, you can't be seen, or you might be killed. Humans are scared of what they can't understand. You're lucky I can see several miles further than my human companions." Elpída looked at Prince Kyoya, and then took off a scale from the tip of her tail, where a missing scale wouldn't be noticed. She placed it the same place that their Beyblades were. Pnévm freaked out.

"You can't give him a scale!" Elpída turned sadly towards the sea.

"Let's go now." She dove into the water.

"Elpída!" Pnévm dove after Elpída. Ieremías simply submerged himself. Bells started ringing after they had left. Several girls come out of a cathedral.

"Look, two men are unconscious on our shores!" A girl with long blonde hair almost as beautiful as Elpída's, except with a red bow in it, and blue eyes ran over towards them. She also wore a tiara.

"Oh my goodness. Try to wake up the other one." She held Kyoya by his shoulders. "Wake up! He's breathing at least, which means he's alive."

"GINGI! YOYO!" The ship was coming close. "ARE YOU GUYS ALIVE?!" Neither of them woke up. The blonde haired girl stood up.

"That must be their company. We'll wait here until they arrive." They got there rather quickly. Yuu jumped off of the ship.

"Gingi! Yoyo!" The blonde girl smiled.

"They'll be alright. They're both breathing." He sighed.

"That's a relief. Did you save them? You're not wet." She shook her head.

"Oh no, they washed up here. You'd better bring them home, where ever they come from." He nodded.

"It's a good thing Tsubasa flew this way to look!" He held out his arm and Tsubasa landed on it. "He's the best birdie in the world!" She smiled.

"I'm sure he is. Now, why don't you take them home?" He nodded.

"We will! Boys!" A few men on the boat came to get them. "Thank you nice lady! Let's go!" They got back on the boat and headed off. She smiled.

"That's a strange bunch indeed, taking orders from a little boy."

"I'M NOT A LITTLE BOY!" She smiled and laughed to herself.

"Quite good hearing too. Oh, I forgot to get their names. Apparently, those two were Gingi and Yoyo though. Strange names indeed." She turned to the girls with her. "Come on. We have things to finish." They nodded at her.

"Yes Lady Ai."

* * *

Pnévm glared at Elpída.

"I hope you're happy now! Not only is it morning and therefore we've obviously been discovered, but we've created an Anima Vinculi, the each of us, with human boys!" Elpída glared at her guardian and friend.

"It's not like it's forbidden to do so!" Ieremías looked nervous.

"Um, guys." Pnévm didn't even hear him.

"Because doing the very action is unthinkable! No mermaid or merman has ever formed an Anima Vinculi with a human before, let alone two at the same time, and it's even worse because you're a princess!"

"Um, guys!" Elpída rolled her eyes.

"Why are you so scared of this? It's not like you run the risk of falling in love. Humans appall you."

"GUYS!" They finally paid attention to Ieremías. "There's some guard from the palace coming after us!" It was true. Due to their bickering, they hadn't noticed the armed guard of mermen heading towards them. They were very close.

"There's the princess! Capture the dolphin and the traitor and bring the princess home safely!" Elpída's eyes widened.

"No one here is a traitor! I order you not to touch them!" They didn't listen to her as they roughly grabbed Pnévm by her upper arms and caught Ieremías in a net of seaweed.

"Come with us Princess Elpídas." She glared at him.

"You ignored my orders, and now you use the wrong name? You may only use that when you call me by my full name, Princess of the Seven Seas Tragoudí Elpídas, Third in Line for the Sacred Pearl Throne, Third Daughter of King Willelmus and Queen Clementia, and the Peridot and Gold Pearl of the Ocean. Now, I order you to release Ieremías and Pnévm!" The captain of the guard shook his head.

"I can't do that. These are orders from your father. Now, come with us." She shook her head.

"No, I won't go! Not unless you release my friends!" Pnévm and Ieremías both shouted at her.

"ELPÍDA!" He sighed.

"Then I don't have a choice." Before she could do anything, he stuck her in the arm with a spine from a sea creature of some sort. Her muscles relaxed before she became unconscious. He caught her in his arms before she could float down to the bottom of the ocean.

"ELPÍDA!" He looked at the two.

"The princess will be alright. It's just a sea urchin needle. Deadly to most creatures, but only knocks out mermaids and mermen. Since you kept her up all night, she'll need the sleep anyway. But you two are in some big trouble. If you say a word, I'll stick you with one of these, whether you're a mermaid or not. Mermen, take them to the palace!"

* * *

"Father, I told you, I did it by choice! No one made me go, and Pnévm came there to bring me home, not to see the surface herself!" Her father was swimming back and forth, extremely angry.

"That doesn't matter! The point is that fact that you deliberately disobeyed not only me, but also your grandmother, and the law! Since punishing you never seems to deter your behavior, you've left me no choice but to punish your friends instead!" Elpída was in tears.

"Father, please!"

"Son!" They turned and saw María, the Queen Mother. "Why punish her for this? Yes, she may have disobeyed, but our world works in mysterious ways. Why, if she hadn't disobeyed you, and if Pnévm hadn't gone in search of her, then two princes would've died. They save their lives." That seemed to make her father even angrier.

"You saved the lives of two humans?! You formed not only one, but two Anima Vinculis?!"

"Father, I only saved one prince! Pnévm saved the other! I couldn't just let them die! And forming an Anima Vinculi with a human isn't forbidden!" He was exploding with anger at this point.

"AS LONG AS I AM WEARING THIS CROWN, I WILL DECIDE WHAT IS FORBIDDEN AND WHAT IS NOT!"

"SON!" Both her father and Elpída were scared. Grandmother María never yelled. "I think that Elpída has done a wonderful thing. It might tie humans and merpeople closer together. Not to mention, she choose to put another's needs before her own, which is a sign of maturity. Her 20th birthday draws near. It may be a bit early, but I say we release her friends and give her the Pearl Hairpin tomorrow morning."

"Mother-" She gave him a firm look.

"My orders are final. You may be the king, but I am still your mother, and you will listen to me." She gave her granddaughter a gentle look before handing her a ring. "Here, give this to the royal guards and tell them that I have released them from prison. Then, go to bed. You've been up all night and need your rest." She smiled excitedly as she took the ring.

"Thank you Grandmother!" She kissed her cheek and then swam off. King Willelmus was confused.

"Mother, that kind of a bond could be very dangerous to have! Why did you pass it off as if it was nothing?!" She held up her hand.

"Hush son. I am well aware of the dangers of this bond. She can see into his soul, and though he may not know it, he can see into hers, which will most likely only occur in his dreams because that's a natural state where one is not searching for someone. Since your crown carries great power, you shall use it to make some of your soldiers into humans. They can stealthily sneak into the palace of the price and slit his throat. We'll wait until the day after tomorrow, when she'll be too caught up in her excitement of receiving her Pearl Hairpin to notice the connection sever. We'll have to do the same for the other prince, for it is a dangerous one even for a commoner. Is that clear?" he nodded.

"I see. I guess there's a reason why you are considered the wisest mermaid to ever live." She smiled.

"I know there's a reason why. Now, I've got things to do, and so do you, so let's act as if nothing is different and do what we must."

* * *

Unknown to anyone in the kingdom, the Sea Witch watched every moment of that happen.

"So, they think they can foil my plans?! HA! I will have what I am after! No one can stop me!" She waved her coral staff, and a small fish swam up to her. "Go and tell the princess of her father and grandmother's plans! Tell her that if she wants, I will help her save her precious prince. Go, GO!" The fish swam off. "You will be mine, my little mermaid!" She laughed like a maniac as her messenger swam to the palace.

**Song Of Hope: Oh, this is so far off of the original story, but I don't care! R&R**


	3. Chapter 3

**Song Of Hope: ALL THE THEATERS ARE SOLD OUT FOR THE DOCTOR WHO 50****TH**** ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL ALREADY! WHY ME?! R&R**

The next morning, Elpída quickly got ready. She was humming to herself as she brushed her hair with her sea urchin spike brush (poison removed).

"I never thought this day would come! I'm going to become a full-fledged mermaid! I wonder what my talent will be. It's gonna be hard to figure out with my knowledge of human fighting." When a mermaid earned her Pearl Hairpin, she gained a talent that matched their knowledge that they were born with. The talent didn't always come out immediately, like Dreia's talent for theater, but came some time later as well, like Nikifóra's talent for poetry. She smiled to herself. "I guess I'll just have to find out."

"Princess Elpída!" She looked out her window curiously and saw a little blue fish with amethyst eyes waiting for her.

"What is it little fish?" She opened up the window. "Who are you?" The little fish swam in.

"I'm Luce, and I have terrible news for you! Your father plans on murdering the man you saved!" Elpída laughed.

"Why Luce, you must be mistaken. My grandmother said that she wouldn't let him. I always trust what my grandmother says. She's the wisest mermaid in the Seven Seas. Now, I must get ready for my ceremony!" She started swimming out the door.

"But Princess Elpída-!"

"Good-bye little fish. I hope you'll be able to tell the truth from now on." She let the door close behind her. The fish sighed.

"Now what am I supposed to say to the Sea Witch?" And image of the Sea Witch appeared before her in a glowing form.

"You have failed me Scales." The fish looked pretty mad.

"My name is not Scales and you know it! My name is Hikaru, the mighty Water Dragon of the East!" The Sea Witch laughed when she said that.

"Not anymore!" She held up a blue sapphire in the shape of a long hexagon. "I hold your Life Gem. I control what you look like and what you do. Until you get me that mermaid, I won't return it!" Hikaru, apparently, sighed.

"What do you want me to do next? She won't listen to me, she doesn't know me." Suddenly, Hikaru was now a blue dolphin, a young one at that.

"Her little friend Ieremías. If you can get him to trust you in your now dolphin appearance as Hydrus, he'll tell the princess about her father and grandmother's plans. Wait until after the ceremony to talk, or else he might make a big fuss and it'll ruin everything." Hikaru had a defiant look in her eyes.

"And if I don't?" The Sea Witch started squeezing the gem in her hand. Hikaru started coughing, reaching towards her throat with her flippers.

"You forget that I can kill you with just the right squeeze. But you can't afford that, can you? You've got your family to tend too." Hikaru couldn't help but think of her husband, Ryuuga, the mighty Fire Dragon of the East, as well as their three children, Ryuuhi, Ryuumi, and Ryuuko. The youngest, Ryuuko, their only son, had only been hatched 50 years ago, which was actually quite a short time ago since dragons live for thousands of years. Hikaru knew she couldn't risk her death since she had young ones to tend to, not to mention her husband had the power to destroy the entire country of where they resided if he got pissed off enough.

She sighed, admitting defeat.

"Fine, I'll do it." The Sea Witch smiled.

"Good. Hurry! Try to befriend the dolphin during the celebration, after she has received her Hairpin!" Hikaru nodded.

"Yes Sea Witch."

"That's Mistress to you!"

"Yes Mistress." The Sea Witch smiled before her image disappeared. Hikaru sighed.

"I swear, I will get back my Life Gem and get back to my family."

* * *

Elpída stayed in place, looking very refined and strong as she waited for her father. Today, she wore Clam Shells, only worn on this very special day. They were lime green, matching her tail. There were three golden chains holding them in place, all linking together in the back. She also wore a lime green band on her left upper arm and two beaded lime green rings around her tail. Her father stood before her as a mermaid with a royal blue pillow that held a flower pin with a white pearl on it came up. He picked the pin off of the pillow.

"This Pearl Hairpin is a mark of your adulthood. It marks that you are a responsible young woman, and shows that you are trusted enough to leave the palace and the safety of the city. Do you accept this responsibility?" She nodded.

"Yes I do."

"And do you understand that once you receive this, you will be responsible for your own actions, and you must be the one to suffer the repercussions?"

"Yes I will."

"And do you swear that by accepting this Pearl Hairpin, you will always hold the Sea in your heart?"

"Yes I shall." He smiled.

"Then, congratulations Princess of the Seven Seas Tragoudí Elpídas, Third in Line for the Sacred Pearl Throne, Third Daughter of King Willelmus and Queen Clementia, and the Peridot and Gold Pearl of the Ocean. You are now officially a full fledged mermaid!" He put the Hairpin in her hair, on the left side of her head, and with a bright glow of lime green light, the pearl turned lime green. They all clapped and cheered for the princess. He turned towards the crowd and held his hands up high to let them know to quite down, then slowly lowered his arms. "To celebrate, Princess Elpída herself will sing a song to us!" She smiled as she cleared her throat.

"_I wake up from my dream hearing my name_

_On the waves of someone's voice_

_Floating above the blue waves within_

_The sea's soft cradle_

_I dreamt a peaceful dream_

"_Somewhere in this big wide sea someone's speaking_

_In a painful arguing voice_

_From the pain of a crying heart_

_Love cannot ever be born_

_Only sadness can enter_

_And over flow that heart_

"_From the fragments of a beautiful wish of the shining_

_There are feelings of wanting to be born embracing light_

_In the orange sea blending into the soft evening sunset_

_The tears of the world can finally go to sleep…"_

Ieremías was listening and bobbing his head back and forth. Suddenly, he felt a tap on his side. He turned and saw a very pretty dolphin with amethyst eyes.

"Hi, I'm Hydrus!" He blushed.

"I'm, uh, I'm, I'm…" She laughed.

"I know who you are! You're Ieremías, the princess's best friend." He nodded.

"Well, actually, I think that would be Pnévm, but I'm a close second!" She laughed again.

"I'm sure she thinks of you as a better friend." She suddenly looked serious. "But I need your help." He looked confused.

"What do you mean?" She took in a deep breath of water.

"I work here in the palace. Yesterday, I overheard the King and the Queen Mother discussing something." She then went on to discuss the plans to murder the princes of Tategami and Hagane. Ieremías looked horrified.

"Oh no! They can't do that!" Hikaru nodded.

"I know, but I don't think the princess would trust me to tell her. I need you to tell her. And then, tell her to meet a little fish by the name of Luce. She'll be able to tell her how to stop her father and grandmother." Ieremías nodded.

"Thank you Hydrus! I'll tell her right now!" He was about to swim up to her, but she blocked his path.

"You should wait until after the celebration. She's too happy right now, plus it'll only make things worse." They looked at her.

"_Some days the source of all fights and sadness will vanish_

_I will sing with one voice when that day comes to pass_

_Someone called out and they sweetly spoke out my name_

_So that they may know of my wish…"_

Ieremías nodded.

"Yeah. I have to tell Pnévm too!" Hikaru nodded.

"Yes, that's a good idea. But remember; wait until after the celebration to tell her." She looked both ways. "I have to go. Remember, tell her to meet up with a fish named Luce. She's a friend, and she'll be able to help her and her friend out. And tell her to bring her Beyblade!" She swam off before Ieremías could say anything else.

"I can't believe that Queen Mother María would lie to her own granddaughter. But, it sounds like something she would come up with. I have to warn Elpída after the celebration! I just have too!"

**After the Celebration**

The celebration lasted until nearly nighttime. When Elpída was in her room, she heard someone tapping on her window. She turned to it and saw Ieremías there. She smiled and opened the window.

"I didn't see you at the celebration! Why didn't you come?" He took in a deep breath and then started talking extremely fast.

"I did go, but when I saw there, a dolphin who called herself Hydrus met with me and told me that she had overheard your father and grandmother-" She held out her arms.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down, and then repeat." He did so and then explained everything that Hikaru had told him.

"And then said to meet up with a little fish named Luce who would be able to help you and Pnévm out." Elpída looked heart broken.

"Are you sure? Can you trust her?" He nodded.

"I wanted to confirm it, so I listened in to their conversations during the celebration. They were talking about which soldiers could be pulled out without you noticing, but would still get the job done! They're seriously going to do it!" She looked horrified.

"But, Grandmother would never-"

"Elpída, they're going to do it! You can't let them kill the princes!" She nodded.

"I know. And I won't let them." She went over to her dresser and grabbed Peridot Leoness. "But how did she know about my Beyblade?"

"I'm guessing she also overheard your father yelling at you about it. She probably told Luce, and you need to bring it because it's important." Elpída nodded.

"That makes sense." She grabbed a sea weed bag and put it in there, as well as a couple of other things such as her hairbrush before putting it over her shoulder. "Where do I meet Luce?" Ieremías shrugged.

"She swam away before I could ask."

"I'm right here." They turned towards her open window and saw the little fish from earlier. Next to her was Pnévm. "You didn't tell the princess's friend like you said you would. Hydrus asked me to make sure, and you didn't." Ieremías got defensive.

"I was telling Elpída just now!" Hikaru turned around.

"Okay then. Follow me. I know someone who can help you with your problem." She started swimming away. "She doesn't turn down folks in need." Ieremías started following, with Elpída and Pnévm coming after. Pnévm faced towards Elpída as they swam.

"You don't really think that Queen Mother María would do that, do you?" Elpída looked down.

"I'm not sure." She looked straight at her friend's face. "But I can't take the chance of letting him die. With the Anima Vinculi, I can see into his soul, and he's not a bad person. He's really a good person at heart, but can't show it because he thinks it'll make him look weak. Plus, I saved his life. Once you save someone's life, you're responsible for the life of that person. I can't let Father and Grandmother do this." Pnévm nodded.

"Prince Ginga's soul is so full of light. There's a very little amount of darkness in there. His soul shows me that he's so kind, so gentle, and just so good, I can't let a light like that die. There're so few people like that among humans, you can't just let it be destroyed. Plus, this would only make the cavern between merpeople and humans even more divided, if the humans ever found out that it was merpeople who did it." Elpída nodded.

"I can't believe that Grandmother would do something like that! It'll do much more harm than good. She's usually so wise, so why would she do this?" Tears came off of her face, but they weren't ordinary water tears. Her tears had a certain sparkle, a shine to them, and they didn't dissolve into the water, but stayed in the clumps of tears. Pnévm wiped them off her face as they swam.

"Don't let tears fall. Mermaid tears are so precious. They shouldn't be wasted. There's no point in creating such a powerful thing over something that we're going to stop." Elpída nodded, wiping her own tears away, and tried not to cry, knowing the strength of their power. Mermaid tears, only created by mermaids where as mermen's tears held no power, were made from special water that stayed together. The power in them can do almost anything. They can heal even the most mortal of wounds, cure the deadliest of poisons, and even break the most powerful spells.

"You're right. I'll save them for when I really need them." They noticed the two actual fish stopped in front of them, so they stopped. Hikaru turned to them.

"We're almost there. By now, I should hope that you recognize where we are. If you want to turn back now you can, but it would mean certain death for the two princes." Elpída looked around and her eyes widened.

"We're close to the lair of the Sea Witch! Why are you taking us to her?" She glared at Hikaru.

"The Sea Witch is the only one powerful enough to save them. She will give you the ability to save them, but you must know that all magic comes with a price. Mermaid tears come at the price of sadness, a dragon using their Life Gem to transform at the price of being weakened for a period of time, or the Anima Vinculi at the price of a slightly shortened life. The only object in the entire Sea that can use magic without a price would be the Crown of the Sacred Pearl Throne, but since your father is using its power to kill your prince, you must use another to save him, or them. The only one with that power is the Sea Witch. Are you willing to do this?" Elpída looked down at the ocean floor with her right arm brought up to her chest, her eyes shining with uncertainty. But, with the light shining over her eyes completely as she looked up, her look became more determined.

"Yes, I am." Pnévm looked surprised, as well as Ieremías. Pnévm swam in front of her friend and grabbed her shoulders.

"Elpída, you can't be serious! The Sea Witch's magic is always dark magic! Who knows what will happen to you once she gives you the magic you need?!" Ieremías nodded.

"For all we know, she'll save him, but she'll keep you in a little jar or something like that! I can't bare the thought of losing you!" Elpída looked just as determined.

"I won't let Kyoya die. He's a good man deep down, and good men don't deserve to die. If you won't come with me, then I'll go all on my own. You won't be able to stop me either, because I have magic of my own now since I'm a full fledged mermaid." Pnévm was shocked, holding her hand up to her mouth in a gasp.

"Elpída!" She quickly swam past Pnévm and up to Hikaru.

"Where is she?" Hikaru motioned towards a cave.

"In that cave." Elpída nodded.

"Then that's where I'm going, and neither of you will get in my way." Elpída swam past them without letting them say another word. Worried for her, the dolphin and aquamarine-haired mermaid swam after her.

As they reached the cave, Hikaru, Elpída, and Pnévm were able to enter, but when Ieremías tried to enter, two curving out pieces of rock shut the cave. He saw that and bashed himself at the rock wall.

"ELPÍDA! PNÉVM!"

* * *

Elpída and Pnévm looked back towards the cave entrance, which was shut. Pnévm looked very worried.

"She's locking us in here!"

"You're welcome to leave any time you want after our talk, but the dolphin has no reason to be here." They turned towards the voice, which leading to the glowing red place at the end of the tunnel. Hikaru started swimming down it towards the light, and then turned towards them.

"She can't hurt you. As long as Elpída is a Princess of the Seven Seas, her and her friends cannot have magic used on them without her wanting it to happen. Unless she gives permission for a spell to be used on her and her friends, the Sea Witch's power will be useless. But she can still save your princes." Hikaru kept swimming forward. Elpída and Pnévm tentatively swam forward with her.

At the end of the tunnel, there was a very large room with red natural walls. There were many shelves with various objects on them in bottles. In the center of the room was a giant cauldron with glowing red contents. Next to it was the Sea Witch with her staff. She smiled at the girls.

"So, you've finally decided to come here." Elpída nodded.

"Yes. Luce has told us that you are the only person who can help us." The Sea Witch nodded.

"Yes I can. Luce, you may now leave." Hikaru nodded and swam off. The Sea Witch returned her attention to the two younger mermaids. "I know all about your problems." She waved her staff over the cauldron. It showed the image of Kyoya practicing with his sword, in front of no one, merely practicing technique. "Your father and grandmother plan on killing this man early tomorrow morning, as well as his friend and rival." She waved her staff over it again, and it showed Ginga pigging out on some food. "Both of them will die unless something else happens." She once again waved her staff over the cauldron, and the image disappeared. "You can save them both. Prince Ginga is staying in Tategami for a while, for what they say are diplomatic reasons, but they are truly training with their Beyblades for the most part." Elpída took out her Beyblade.

"They're training with these?" The Sea Witch nodded.

"Yes. But soon, they will be unable to do that, or anything, unless I help you." Elpída nodded.

"What can you do to save them?" The Sea Witch smiled evilly.

"There's only one way you can save them." Elpída brought her arms into her chest.

"Please! I'll do anything to save him!" She looked at the young princess in a different way.

"I see now. You've fallen for him. The Anima Vinculi lets you see straight into his soul and know exactly who he is without even talking to him. You like what you see, even love what you see." She looked straight down at the ground, but then looked her in the eyes.

"Yes, I have fallen in love with the prince! Please, tell me how to save Kyoya." The Sea Witch looked straight at Pnévm.

"What about you? I can see it in your eyes, but you're too scared of your feelings, aren't you child? Isn't that why you've been so tentative about this? You're scared of falling in love with a human, and want to pretend that you haven't, isn't that true?" Pnévm blushed, but nodded.

"I don't want Ginga to die. He's a good man, and he's so gentle and kind. It's hard not to fall for a man who's so wonderful, legs or tail." She nodded at the younger mermaid's statement before grabbing multiple things off of her shelves.

"Well then, this'll make the spell much easier. In order to save them, you'll have to become humans yourselves." They both gasped, but Elpída was the first to say something.

"What?!"

"Humans?" She nodded.

"That's right. You'll never be able to return to the Sea, but your princes will be safe. Plus, you'll be with them. But things aren't just that simple. Since you've both fallen in love, I must do something with the spell to include that. Having love involved will make the spell much stronger, but it'll also have much greater consequences. Elpída, if you fail to capture his heart and he marries another, then on the morning after his wedding, the spell will be broken. You will either turn into sea foam, or you will become my servant. Either way, should he fall in love with another, you will forfeit your powers as a Princess of the Seven Seas over to me." Pnévm looked scared.

"Don't do it! I'll protect them on my own! You don't have to do it!" Elpída looked away from her friend and towards the Sea Witch.

"What else do I get in return? That's far too much for you to have for it to be equal."

"Whoever said life was fair? You're paying the price for both you and your friend. I have no use for anything that she has. Going by that, I think things should be added that you owe me." Pnévm looked horrified.

"No! She won't pay the price for me!" Elpída glared at her friend.

"I'm perfectly willing to pay the price! If it means saving Kyoya, then I'll do anything!" She turned back to the Sea Witch. "What is the rest of your price?"

"I require three more things. I want your beautiful hair and your emerald eyes! Once the potion is in effect, you'll grow new hair and have a new pair of eyes, but you will not look like yourself. Your looks will be much less divine, and you'll look much more human than before as far as your features, which is an effect of the potion anyway, regardless of if I take your eyes and hair or not. The second thing is your voice." Elpída's hand flew up to her throat.

"You want my voice?" She nodded.

"You have the most beautiful hair, eyes, and voice of anyone under the Sea. Even your sisters cannot compare to that! In return for your voice, I will give you two a telepathic link between each other. She'll say whatever you want to be said. The last thing I want is actually both of your names. I'll replace them with names, Hope Song and Madoka Amano. All together, you and the other one will be able to talk to reach other, you'll be humans, and you'll be able to protect them, because the spell makes it so that those you love will be protected from harm. Do you accept the price?"

"No Elpída!" Two kelp plants suddenly grew and wrapped themselves around Pnévm's mouth, so Elpída didn't hear her say anything. She nodded.

"Yes, I accept those prices." The Sea Witch smiled and waved her coral staff, making a golden contract appear. With it came a fish skeleton pen.

"Sign right there, and I'll prepare the potion." Pnévm tried to stop her, but more kelp wrapped around her so that she couldn't do anything. "Just to let you know, if one of you signs it and the other doesn't, then both of you will die. You also cannot mention the spell or conditions of the spell to anyone else once you drink the potion, or else you will meet the same fate. Do you still want to sign?" Elpída floated strong.

"I don't care. As long as I have even the smallest chance to save Kyoya, I'll take it. I'm sorry Pnévm, but I have to do this. I know that I'm dragging you into a life or death contract along with me, but I can't, I just can't risk letting Kyoya die!" With that, she took the pen and signed her full name (title not included). The kelp released Pnévm. With her eyes full of sadness, she also signed the contract. The Sea Witch laughed.

"Now, for your hair and pretty eyes!"

* * *

Ieremías looked very nervous, swimming back and forth. As soon as he heard a scream, his attention shot to the door, recognizing it as Hope's screams. He started beating himself against the door.

"Let me in! Let me talk to Hope! What are you doing to her you evil old Sea Witch?!" Suddenly, the doors opened, and he shot through the cavern, stopping right before he ran into Madoka. She was gently guiding Hope along, who had bandages over her eyes, with both ends being long and trailing down, covering herself. Ieremías smiled, but then frowned when he noticed her hair gone. "Where's your hair Hope?" Madoka looked down at the ocean floor.

"In order to save them, she took the greater price. We've both lost the ability to return to the sea and our names, but she's lost her hair, her eyes, and her voice to pay for my price. I tried to stop her, but I wasn't able to." Ieremías started crying, but his tears blended in with the sea.

"No! No, that can't be true! You can't have given up all of that Hope!" He gasped. "Why did I just call her that?"

"She gave up her name, which means that now, everyone will refer to her automatically by her new name, Hope Song. You've referred to her by it once as far as I know of already. I'm now Madoka Amano as well." Ieremías started crying again.

"Oh no! You can't have given up your name! You can't have!" While she couldn't see him, she gently rubbed his head.

"She said "don't cry for me Ieremías, because I'm able to do what I set out to do in the first place, so no more tears, okay'. The Sea Witch gave us a telepathic ability. We can speak to each other in our minds now. I'll be able to tell Prince Kyoya what she wants to say to him." He realized something.

"Where's her Pearl Hairpin?!" Madoka pointed at Hope's bag.

"It's in there, along with the two bottles of potion and the other things Hope brought along. The Sea Witch didn't ask for those. We need to get to the surface before the sun sets, or else we'll have lost so much for no reason."

"I can get you to the surface." They turned and saw a very large, winding blue dragon with amethyst eyes, and a giant spot on her forehead where it looked like something was missing. "I'm Hikaru, the Water Dragon of the East. I can get you to the surface, even to dry land, in a flash. But why do you need to get to the surface?" Hope groped around until she found the opening of her bag, and then groped around some more until she pulled out a small crystal bottle filled with an emerald green liquid. Madoka spoke for her.

"We've gotten a potion from the Sea Witch that will turn us both into humans, but it won't work if we don't drink it before the sun sets." Hikaru smiled.

"Well, I'll get you to the surface, even to dry land with my ability to cloak myself from humans. Where do you want to go?" Hope put away the potion bottle and then Madoka spoke.

"Do you know where Tategami is?"

**Far Away (Not Long Later)**

Hikaru floated very closely above the sand on the shore. Madoka gently guided Hope off of her back and onto the sand sitting up before getting off of Hikaru herself. Madoka sat up the best she could.

"Thank you for doing this." Hikaru smiled sadly.

"Don't thank me yet. Now, I need to go. I can only hide myself for so long. Good-bye." She flew off. Madoka turned to Hope.

"We have to do this now. The sun will set soon." Hope nodded and took out the potions. The bottles were the exact same, but one had sapphire blue liquid, with the other having the emerald green one from earlier. Madoka grabbed the one with the blue liquid. "Well, bottoms up." They both pulled off the caps and drank the potion, both coughing and sputtering. Brown hair started growing from Hope's scalp, while Madoka's hair shortened and became brown. Madoka's eyes opened wide, to reveal that they had become the same color her hair had once been. The last thing to happen was that their tail split apart and then became legs. After that, both of them fainted.

**Song Of Hope: just to let you know, for reasons I will not explain because it'd be a long explanation, I'm not going to be using the computer at all next week. This might be the last update I put up for the next week. R&R**


End file.
